NEWS

The son of a British director has described how Rik Mayall helped him with his epilepsy after the pair were diagnosed with the condition within a year of each other.
Nico Richardson, a family friend whose father is Peter Richardson, the Comic Strip founder, described Mayall as “the same legend” offstage and on, saying he would “never forget” his support.
Mayall, the 56–year–old star of The Young Ones and The New Statesman, collapsed at his home in London on Monday, shortly after “chatting happily” with Nico’s elder brother.
The cause of his death is yet to be confirmed, although his wife, Barbara Robbin has suggested that a seizure could have been a possible cause of death.
He had survived a near-fatal quad bike accident in 1998 but suffered a fractured skull and was left with epilepsy for which he had to take daily medication.